Unrequited
by SilverShadow1711
Summary: Marth knew she felt the same as he did, because she was always looking at him. A short one-shot about skewed perception and romantic feelings, just in time for Valentines day!


Title- Unrequited

Rating- K

A/N- Man, placing my preorder for FE: Echoes has me SO hype... that maybe, we'll finally get our officially localized version of 'New Mystery of the Emblem'! The thought of playing matchmaker with some of my absolute favorite characters in the FE series as a whole is just too good...

000

=Marth=

He often caught her looking in his direction. It wasn't the simpering gaze of the courtiers or ladies in waiting, nor was it the respectfully nonchalant acknowledgement of the other castle guards. It was... curious. As if she were thinking deeply on something while she regarded him. If she realized he was watching her watching him, she would hang her head in shame and apologize profusely, Gods above, I am _so_ sorry, Your Majesty! I have no idea what possessed me to act so disrespectfully...! And of course Marth would placate her, reminding her that there was nothing "disrespectful" about what she was doing. She was his personal guard, after all. It was better that she keep a watchful eye over him than ignore him and leave him vulnerable to an assassin, right? And she would agree with his words, but continue to look away, shamefaced. He hated that she felt so terrible for what she had done, but deep down, in a small corner of his heart, he rather liked the way her embarrassment flushed her cheeks a very becoming shade of red, and would chuckle appreciatively.

It was foolish to even concern himself with such things, much less allow himself to smile wider at the thought of his personal guard getting all flustered over the thought of him. Because nothing could become of it. Dame Kristabel- Kris, she always preferred to be called "Kris", cringing slightly whenever someone used her given name- did not come from a noble house. There were no titles nor estates to her name. She was simply a peasant who clawed her way up through the ranks of the Altean royal army with skill and determination alone. Of course, even if she _were_ a noble lady, bedazzled in fine jewels and draped in silks and tittering behind her hand, there would still be no point in thinking of her in an even vaguely romantic sense. Because he was married to Caeda. And he loved Caeda, truly he did. But it was not the same. He hadn't know Kris nearly as long as his wife- she had suddenly appeared in his life, like a shadow, but... what he felt for her was so much stronger than the affection he had for the Talysian princess.

Perhaps his feelings had simply been forged in the flames of the battlefield. His queen could hold her own, to be sure, but she was... delicate. He was always afraid to let her near the front lines... Kris more often than not ran past him during battles, desperate to keep _him_ away from the front lines. There was something hard and unpolished about her, but... there was also a spark of something else. Something tender and caring that he wished he could see more of. Perhaps if he had met her a long time ago, before the war with Gra, he could've seen that side. Perhaps, if she truly did have feelings for him like he suspected- _hoped_ \- she did, those feelings could've blossomed into something more. But, alas, that was not the way the world worked. Fate was cruel sometimes. But at least, he could spy out of the corner of his eye and catch her gazing at him and smile, hoping- _knowing_ \- that he was not alone in his feelings.

000

=Kris=

How could anyone be fooled by so easily, she often pondered on the slow days. The slow days were the best, of course- when King Marth only had to speak with his advisors and perhaps diplomats from other courts. The slow days were the safe days, when she allowed the knot in her stomach to loosen a bit because it didn't seem like there might be a coup or an assassin. There was peace and a general sense of calm that had covered Altea after the war, but people were horrid, ugly, power-hungry creatures. There would always be one group of rebels who felt the king wasn't listening to their plight, one scheming noble who only had their best interests in mind... As the King's personal guard, Kris had to always keep threats like that in the back of her mind, but on the slow, relaxing days when she simply stood by her lord as he went over documents, the fore of her mind quickly became distracted. They really looked nothing alike, after all. Granted, they had the same hair color, that deep, royal blue that lent itself to a very regal appearance, but the similarities ended there.

She had been pondering it since the day Sir Jagen told her about the events leading up to the first war, and their retinue being pursued by bandits. It didn't seem feasible to her that anyone could mistake Sir Frey for King Marth- especially a young, childish _Prince_ Marth. From a distance- a _great_ distance, perhaps, but... She squinted her one good eye to better see the king's profile. He was around the same age as her, perhaps a bit older. A man, to be certain, but he still seemed so... young. Even though she could see the lines beginning to form around his eyes from stress and anxiety, and the shadows that still lingered there when he remembered something unpleasant, it was easy enough to mistake him for a boy. His features were so fine and delicate, and even his voice sounded so youthful it was difficult not to think of him as one of the little children who used to pester her back in Sera. Nothing like Sir Frey...

She felt the heat rise in her cheeks thinking just about him, and was grateful she wasn't looking at King Marth- Naga forbid if he caught her blushing like a lovesick schoolgirl. Sir Frey had already chastised her once about that, about not letting her personal feelings, whatever and for whomever they may be, get in the way of her duties. That had crushed whatever tiny spark of hope remained in her heart that perhaps he reciprocated her feelings, and though Sir Cain had, in a roundabout way, tried to assure her that the problem was not her, it still stung bitterly. _He's married to his duty, and he expects the same from the rest of us_ , was what Cain had told her, whispering almost conspiratorially how upset and disappointed the older knight had been when Sir Able left the knighthood for the sake of "romance". Kris would never have dreamed of turning her back on King Marth for any reason, but hearing that made it easier to swallow her disappointment and keep her head high. They were both married to their duty, and if she could not have Sir Frey's love, she would happily settle for his respect.

000

A/N- A short little oneshot. I do so love unrequited love. I had originally wanted this to be longer (it was supposed to be Marth, Kris, Frey and Catria- I think you can tell who has feelings for whom in this order) but I'm not confident enough to write out Frey and Catria. Maybe if I play the game a few more times; it's been a while, man. But yeah, I just love the thought of Marth thinking MyUnit has feelings for _him_ , while they're thinking about someone else entirely.


End file.
